Citizen’s Guide to the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Information Act of 1974 to Request Government Records

Updated 08/14/2015: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the embodi-ment of the public’s right to know about the activities of its government.Transparency is an integral part of a democracy and is necessary to holda government accountable to its people. FOIA is a foundational transpar-ency law, and one of the most important tools in creating and maintaininga transparent and accountable government. It is the primary mechanismby which the public can gain access to government information. FOIA hasproven to be extremely effective in creating a more transparent federalgovernment.FOIA is a federal law that allows people to request information from theFederal Government. Under FOIA, people may file a request for any exist-ing record at any federal agency for any reason. Agencies subject to FOIAinclude the Executive Branch departments, agencies, and offices; federalregulatory agencies; and federal corporations. The Legislative Branch andthe Judicial Branch are not subject to FOIA.The Privacy Act of 1974 complements FOIA. The Privacy Act regulatesfederal government agency recordkeeping and disclosure practices. ThePrivacy Act allows most individuals to seek access to federal agency recordsabout themselves. The Act requires that personal information in agency filesbe accurate, complete, relevant, and up-to-date. The subject of a record maychallenge the accuracy of information. The Act requires that agencies obtaininformation directly from the subject of the record to the greatest extentpracticable and that information gathered for one purpose not be used foranother incompatible purpose. As with FOIA, the Privacy Act provides civilremedies for individuals whose rights may have been violated.This report is a guide that explains how to use the Freedom ofInformation Act and the Privacy Act of 1974. It reflects all changes to thelaws made prior to 2012. Major amendments to the Freedom of InformationAct (FOIA) were enacted in 1974, 1976, 1986, 1996, and 2007. Additionalminor amendments to FOIA were made in 2002 and 2009. A significantaddition to the Privacy Act of 1974 was enacted in 1988.This Guide is intended to serve as an introduction to the Freedom ofInformation Act and the Privacy Act. It offers neither a comprehensiveexplanation of the details of these acts nor an analysis of relevant case law.The Guide will enable those who are unfamiliar with the laws to understandthe processes associated with making an information request. In addition,the complete text of each law is included in an appendix to this document. Read more